Andy Tyrie

Andy Tyrie (5 February 1940-) was the commander of the Ulster Defense Association from 1973 to 1988, succeeding Charles Harding Smith. He was forced to resign after a Provisional IRA attempt on his life during The Troubles.

Biography
Andy Tyrie was born in Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland on 5 February 1940, the descendant of Scottish settlers who arrived in the region in the early days of the Plantation of Ulster. In 1967, he joined the Ulster Volunteer Force at the start of The Troubles, and he was chosen to lead the Ulster Defense Association in 1973 as a compromise candidate between Charles Harding Smith and Tommy Herron. He oversaw a council strike in May 1974 to oppose sharing power with Irish nationalists, and he had Smith exiled to England after Smith protested against Tyrie being in contact with Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Tyrie claimed that the role of the UDA should be "terrorizing the terrorists", and he voiced his disappointment at the sectarian murder of innocent Irish Catholics. After a 6 March 1988 car bombing attempt on Tyrie's life, Tyrie decided to resign as UDA leader, and he supported the Belfast Agreement, as the agreement was similar to Tyrie and John McMichael's plan for peace. He would retire from politics after the peace agreement.